


Technologic Bionic Lifeforms

by darkone



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Falling In Love, Idiots in Love, Love at First Sight, M/M, Tampa Bay Lightning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-16 03:10:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13627353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkone/pseuds/darkone
Summary: Here at TBL Industries, we don't just strive to make the highest quality companions, we ARE the Gold Standard.  We can create your perfect companion, for any need, want, or desire. We use state of the art technology to make your perfect person down to the last detail.Who do you want to spend the rest of your life with?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [verbaeghe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/verbaeghe/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy your gift, mishey! ♥ 
> 
> And thanks to my betas for all their help!

Nikita pulled up the service screen on the dashboard as his car drove him to his destination: another maintenance call from Rupert.

He snarled at the thought of the name. 

Nikita smiled when the picture of the droid he was collecting for maintenance popped up, his code name printed just below his awkward smile.

_VL4DD-Y_

He loved that smile, those piercing blue eyes, and messy hair that never seemed to settle no matter what Vladdy did.

Nikita shook his head and closed the file, sighing. He _knew_ he shouldn’t have these feelings for Vladdy. His job was to make the droids and send them off, not fall in love with one. It was easier to deal with when he wasn’t near Vladdy but those feelings would bloom over and over again every time Nikita saw him. Vladdy wasn’t Nikita’s to have though, not even in his wildest dreams. 

Nikita wasn’t surprised to see Rupert outside waiting for him with Vladdy when his car stopped outside the gaudy mansion.

“This is the _sixth_ time you’ve called me out here,” Nikita said by way of greeting. 

“I would only have to see you for the _yearly_ maintenance if you didn’t make me a _defective_ droid, Dr. Kucherov,” Rupert scoffed. 

Nikita fought a growl when he saw Vladdy blanch at Rupert’s words. 

“I’ve run countless diagnostics on Vladdy.” Nikita clenched his fist. “There’s _nothing_ wrong with him.” 

“He malfunctions constantly!” Rupert exclaimed. “I’m sick of this! Either you fix him this time or I trash him!” 

“You realize he’s standing right there!?” Nikita frowned. He couldn’t believe Rupert would talk about Vladdy like he wasn’t even there. “He’s a person and he has feelings!” 

“His feelings don’t matter.” Rupert rolled his eyes. “Just fix him or he’s going in the dump.” 

Rupert left without another word. Nikita’s heart broke at the wounded sound that came from Vladdy. 

“Hey,” Nikita said softly. “You’re perfect. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” 

“There must be something wrong with me or he wouldn’t have to call you out so much,” Vladdy said with a sigh. 

“Vladdy…” 

“Can we just go?” Vladdy looked at Nikita with glassy eyes. He brushed by Nikita and got into the passenger side of the car. Nikita shook his head and followed him to the driver’s side. 

As the car took them back to _TBL Industries_ , Nikita stewed silently, angry over the things Rupert said. How dare he threaten to decommission Vladdy. He didn’t understand how consumers wanted these droids to be as human as possible and still be _perfect_. That’s not how it worked. 

Nikita looked over at Vladdy, his head leaned up against the window to watch the skyline. Nikita wished he could make Rupert understand that Vladdy’s social anxiety wasn’t a malfunction but just something that made Vladdy a person. 

Rupert didn’t deserve Vladdy anyway. Nikita could barely count the number of times he wanted to just run off with Vladdy somewhere away from everything so they could be together. 

Not that it mattered, Nikita could never tell Vladdy how he felt. 

~ 

“I’d say I miss _TBL Industries_ if I wasn’t back here so often,” Vladdy huffed. They walked through the crowded hallways to get to Nikita’s laboratory. 

“I hope you missed me, at least.” Nikita smiled. 

“I always miss you.” Vladdy returned the smile. 

Nikita loved the tinge of pink in Vladdy’s cheeks but checked himself when he realized he shouldn’t be staring at Vladdy like that. He turned away to enter the code to enter the lab. “I’ve rearranged a few things since you were last here.” 

“Nice, you gave yourself a window view,” Vladdy smirked. “Oh. Who’s that?” 

Nikita followed Vladdy’s gaze to the nearby table with another droid laying on it. “He’s Braydon’s project. He should wake up soon, actually.” 

Nikita walked over to another empty table and patted the spot. Vladdy nodded and hopped up.  
Nikita brought up the diagnostic screen on Vladdy and began running the standard protocol tests. 

Nikita wasn’t surprised when every single test finished with a green check mark. He sighed, not knowing what to do with this whole Rupert situation. Nikita didn’t want to send Vladdy back to him knowing that in a few days he would receive another call to fix something that wasn’t broken. 

“You okay?” Nikita jumped at the sudden contact from Vladdy making Vladdy pull his hand away. 

“Sorry.” 

“I can run these tests a thousand times and they’ll always tell me the same thing.” Nikita rubbed the spot where Vladdy’s hand was a second ago. 

“Maybe there’s an underlying issue?” 

“No.” Nikita shook his head. “Absolutely not. You’re functioning perfectly.” 

“Most of his issues with me stem from him trying to get closer to me, I freeze up and start stuttering and mumbling all over the place.” Vladdy hung his head. 

__“That’s not a malfunction though!” Nikita threw his hands up. “You have social anxiety, of course, you get nervous when put into a situation you aren’t comfortable with! Why doesn’t this _idiot_ get that?!” _ _

“Tell me how you really feel, Nikita.” Vladdy cocked his head and smiled. 

Nikita schooled his features immediately, he could slap himself for letting his emotions get the better of him when it came to Vladdy and...and that _man_. “I just wish I could say these things to him, maybe then he’d get it through his thick skull.” 

“You have to be a little more diplomatic than that.” Vladdy chuckled. 

“Yeah, I know.” Nikita threw himself down in a nearby chair, swiveling around in it a couple times before he thought of something. “I think I need to go to my boss on this one. I just don’t know what to do…” 

“Couldn’t hurt.” Vladdy hopped down off the table. “Want me to come with you?” 

“Probably best you stay here.” Nikita stood up and offered Vladdy his seat. Vladdy obliged, sticking his legs out when Nikita rolled him over to his nearby desk. “Bet you can’t beat my high score in _Meteor Blaster_!” 

“Please.” Vladdy pulled the game up on Nikita’s computer. “I’ll destroy it!” 

“Good luck!” Nikita winked, leaving Vladdy to the game. He looked back once on his way out, loving the way Vladdy stuck his tongue out when he played. 

~ 

“It’s not often I see you up here, Dr. Kucherov.” 

“I’ve got a bit of a problem, Dr. Yzerman. I was hoping you could give me some advice.” Nikita sat in the chair opposite his boss, staring at the older man. 

“Must be quite a problem if even you can’t figure it out.” Dr. Yzerman smiled. “Is this about VL4DD-Y?” 

“Yes, it’s about Vladdy.” Nikita explained the situation, even mentioning what Rupert threatened to do. “I’m just at a loss of what to do,” he finished with a sigh. 

“Hmm.” Dr. Yzerman pushed his glasses up his nose. “Maybe it’s something the tests can’t detect?” 

“I don’t think there’s any kind of malfunction.” 

“But what if there is?” Dr. Yzerman pursed his lips. “I would suggest taking him home with you for a few days of observation. Seeing how he goes about his day may give a clue.” 

“I-I don’t know about that.” Nikita frowned. The idea of being alone with Vladdy for a few days terrified him knowing it would be even harder to send Vladdy back to Rupert. 

“Then I won’t make it a suggestion.” Dr. Yzerman said, pulling Nikita from his thoughts. “I don’t need decommissioning droids to become a habit for _TBL Industries_ , we’re the standard in the droid market. I’d like to keep it that way.” 

“Yes, Dr. Yzerman.” Nikita stood to leave, heading back down to his laboratory to tell Vladdy the plan. 


	2. Chapter 2

_Diagnostics…_  
_Vitals...Complete..._  
_Memory...Complete..._  
_Initializing Program…_

_SL8T-R_

He opened his eyes, closing them immediately when met with the bright light overhead.

“Jeez, who left the light on?” Slater sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Clothes would be nice too…” He frowned, the only thing covering him was a towel and the room was _freezing_.

“Here’s a robe,” Slater jumped at the sudden voice, turning his head towards the source. The blonde man smiled at him holding out the robe. Slater accepted it.

“Thanks,” Slater slipped into it. “What’s your name?”

“Vladdy.”

“I’m Slater.” He smiled, looking around the empty room. “Where is everyone?” 

“Oh, I don’t know.” Vladdy shrugged. “I’m just waiting for someone.”

“Are you like me?” Slater asked. 

Vladdy nodded. 

“So, when were you born?” 

“Um,” Vladdy pulled his mouth from side to side. “Four hundred twenty three days, five minutes and twenty seconds ago.”

“Oh, sweet! I have a big brother then!” Slater beamed. “I’ve always wanted one!”

“I’m not sure it works like that,” Vladdy laughed.

“ _TBL Industries_ is totally our mom,” Slater explained. “We probably have different dads though,” he finished with a laugh. 

“Okay, you got me there,” Vladdy chuckled. 

They both looked over to the door when it opened. Two men walked in wearing white lab coats. 

“Oh. You’re awake.” The taller man looked surprised as he hurried over to his computer. “You aren’t supposed to wake up for another three hours!” 

“Well, my dream was over.” Slater studied him, stepping closer to get a better look. The man had auburn hair that was just long enough to start curling at the edges, gorgeous blue eyes, and the broadest shoulders Slater had ever seen. 

“I better run a quick diagnostic though,” he said, standing. Slater didn’t realize how much the man towered over him until he stood closer. “Can you hop up on the table?” 

“Oh, for sure.” Slater obliged. “What’s your name, by the way?” he asked just as a node was attached to his temple. 

“Braydon,” he answered distractedly. 

Slater thought he smelled nice. “I’m Slater.”

“I know.” Braydon smiled. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You too.” Slater stared at Braydon’s features, admiring the scruff on his jaw and the bump on his nose that was clearly broken a few times. 

“Sorry, if I’m poking and prodding you too much.” Braydon adjusted a few nodes on Slater’s head. “I just wasn’t expecting you up and about already,” he said with a soft laugh.

“It was time to get up.” Slater leaned in, taking notice of the way Braydon’s face lit up when he laughed. “Your eyes crinkle when you laugh. I like that.” 

“Oh.” Braydon stopped, face turning pink. “T-thank you.” 

Slater smirked, enjoying the blush on Braydon’s cheeks as he tried to concentrate on the task in front of him. “You’re welcome.” 

Braydon finished up. “Alright. All done.”

Slater jumped down from the table, realizing he was still only wearing a robe. “Do you have any pants or anything? Kind of cold here.” Slater smirked. His eyebrow arched when he noticed Braydon’s eyes look him up and down quickly before he ducked away towards a nearby cabinet. 

“Here.” Braydon handed Slater a pair of sweatpants and a plain t-shirt. “I sent word to my superiors they’ll be here soon to make sure all the commissioner’s requests were followed.”

“What kind of requests?” Slater pulled the shirt over his head. 

“Appearance, personality, and objectives,” Braydon answered. “For example, your main objective is to fall in love.”

Slater stepped closer into Braydon’s space, leaning up towards him. “Okay. Then what?” he said softly, enjoying the rush of pink of Braydon’s cheeks. 

“Um…” Braydon ran a hand through his hair. They both startled when someone else spoke.

“We’re going to head out.” 

Slater turned around to see Vladdy and the other scientist by the exit. He completely forget they were even in the room. 

“Good luck with everything, Nikita.” Braydon smiled.

“Thanks.”

“Bye Vladdy!” Slater waved. 

“Bye Slater, hope I see you again soon!” Vladdy waved back. Nikita placed a hand on Vladdy’s shoulder and lead him out of the room. 

Slater and Braydon were alone for less than thirty seconds before five more people walked into the room wearing the same lab coats but looking far less friendly than Braydon and Nikita. 

“Dr. Coburn. Thank you for calling us,” a woman with a shrill voice spoke. It grated Slater’s ears.

“We expected this meeting later, I suppose SL8T-R wanted to join us sooner, hmm?” a man said, noting something on his clipboard. 

Slater frowned.

“I’ve run all the diagnostics on Slater. Despite waking up early, everything's normal,” Braydon replied. 

“We did receive that report,” the shrill woman spoke again. “But we will commence our own inspection on SL8T-R as well.”

“My name is Slater.” Slater crossed his arms. 

The other scientists ignored him and began looking him over. 

“SL8T-R is well built to the instructions provided by the commissioner,” a short bald man said as he held out Slater’s arm, examining his reflexes.

“Slater,” he corrected.

“All of SL8T-R’s programs are uploaded correctly to correspond with its objectives,” a stern looking woman commented.

“My _name_ is Slater!” He pulled away from them and towards Braydon. Slater was absolutely fuming on the inside, how dare they treat him like he’s just some machine. He was a _person_. 

The shrill woman looked down at her clipboard. “The commissioner did request the droid be ‘fiesty’. I think SL8T-R fits the bill.” 

Slater opened his mouth but stopped when he felt Braydon squeeze his shoulder. He frowned, holding his tongue. 

“I would suggest Dr. Coburn keep SL8T-R under his care for an adjustment period to get the droid acclimated to life.” The short bald man pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Yes, sir.” Braydon replied. “I will take care of Slater.” 

Slater looked at Braydon and smiled. He was excited about spending some one on one time with Braydon. Slater was rudely interrupted in his staring at Braydon by the other scientists who only managed to not call him by his name another ten times before they finally left. 

“I thought they would never leave.” Slater threw himself down into a nearby chair. “So, you taking me home with you tonight or…” he trailed off with a grin.

“I would love to have you over but you can stay at the lab if you wish,” Braydon said, clearing his throat.

“This place is so _sterile_.” Slater made a face. “And that table is not comfy.”

“Fair enough.” Braydon laughed. “Let me just finish up some stuff and we’ll head out.” 

~

Slater marveled at the city passing by him in the window of the car. He loved how the orange and yellow colors from the sunset reflected in the buildings. 

“Do you ever get tired of seeing sunsets, Braydon?” Slater asked.

“Never. They’re always beautiful.” 

“Good. I know this is my first time seeing one but I hope to enjoy a lot.” Slater turned his gaze to Braydon, gasping when he saw the way the colors washed over Braydon’s skin, illuminated his eyes and made his auburn hair glow even brighter.

“You okay?” Braydon looked at him. 

“Oh.” Slater blinked. “I’m just excited about seeing where you live.” 

“It’s nothing special,” Braydon said, shrugging. “We should probably pick up dinner though.”

“Or we could make dinner?” Slater suggested. 

“I have zero food at home. I order out a lot.” 

“Okay, you need to stop at the grocery store so I can buy us food to make dinner.” 

“You don’t have any money,” Braydon said, laughing.

“Fine. Stop at the grocery store and _you_ buy us food to make dinner,” Slater corrected, rolling his eyes. “Oh! I want to make spaghetti and meatballs!” 

“You know you aren’t programmed to do cooking and other household chores, right?” 

“I don’t care. I _want_ to make spaghetti and meatballs.”

“Okay, okay. We’ll get the stuff,” Braydon relented. 

Slater cheered. 

~

“Wow, that was delicious!” Braydon grabbed his and Slater’s empty plates, placing them in the sink.

“I can wash them,” Slater offered but Braydon waved him off.

“I’ll do it later. You did all the cooking, I can at least wash the dishes.” Braydon patted Slater on the shoulder. “Let’s watch some tv.” 

The couch was really comfortable and Slater thought he could fall asleep easily here. 

“Nice, _Kingsman_ is on,” Braydon said when he switched to the channel. “It’s my favorite classical movie.”

Slater had to admit it was a pretty awesome movie. It definitely kept his attention. He checked the time about halfway through the movie, not realizing how late it was. He turned to Braydon, smiling when he saw Braydon fell asleep on the couch. 

Slater turned off the movie and tried to gently nudge Braydon awake.

“Braydon?” Slater cupped Braydon’s cheek, patting it. Braydon didn’t budge. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.” 

Braydon stirred, nuzzling into Slater’s hand. “Oh. Sorry,” Braydon said sleepily.

“It’s okay.” Slater helped Braydon up, leading him towards his room to settle into bed. He chucked to himself when Braydon fell back asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. 

Slater tucked Braydon in, allowing himself to run a soft hand over Braydon’s hair but nothing more. 

“Guess _I’ll_ wash the dishes then.” He tidied up the kitchen before turning in to Braydon’s guest room.


	3. Chapter 3

Vladdy finished his toast, watching Nikita clean up the kitchen from breakfast. He loved mornings with Nikita. Actually, Vladdy just loved being around Nikita. He was always so kind and patient, even when Vladdy would get nervous. Nikita would always try to calm him down if he was upset and, most of all, he never once tried to fix him. 

His love was misplaced though. His objective was to fall in love with Rupert, but he had no ounce of feeling for that _awful_ man and he never would. 

Vladdy didn’t think it was fair he didn’t get a choice in who he could love or be with. His whole life was decided for him the moment he opened his eyes. If Vladdy had a choice he would choose Nikita in a heartbeat. The amount of times he thought about running away with Nikita were infinite, but he knew that situation was just a mere fantasy. 

Vladdy sighed, he didn’t want to go back to Rupert. He just wanted to stay here with Nikita forever.

“Everything alright?” 

Vladdy tensed when Nikita placed a gentle hand on his arm. 

“I know I burnt the toast.”

“Oh, it’s not about that,” Vladdy said, laughing. He patted the top of Nikita’s hand. “I just..well, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.” Nikita made a solemn face. 

Vladdy stared into his Nikita’s eyes, knowing they were both counting down the days before Vladdy had to go back to Rupert. Vladdy cocked his head, Nikita looked like a thousand conflicting thoughts were running through his head. 

“Are _you_ okay?” Vladdy leaned in a bit. 

Nikita didn’t answer, catching Vladdy’s gaze and holding it until Vladdy managed to break it. 

Vladdy looked down at his hand on top of Nikita’s, brushing his thumb over Nikita’s knuckles and smiling to himself. He looked up to see Nikita still staring, no, _gazing_ at him. 

“I love you,” they said together, both gasping once the words left their lips. 

“I’m so sorry.” Nikita immediately pulled away. “I shouldn’t have-”

“No, no. It’s my fault. I-” He reached for Nikita.

“It’s not your fault, it could never be your fault, Vladdy,” Nikita said quietly. 

Vladdy moved to comfort him, happy that Nikita didn’t reject his touch even if he could see the sadness in Nikita’s eyes. 

“I promised myself I would never say those words.” 

“Why?” Vladdy leaned in closer.

“I can’t have you. It doesn’t matter how I feel, you’re not for me.” 

“But I love you _too_ , Nikita.” Vladdy cupped his face. 

“I know but we _can’t_ , Vladdy.” Nikita shook his head, tearing himself from Vladdy’s embrace. “You’re supposed to be with Ru- _him_.” 

“He’s nothing to me.” Vladdy shrunk into himself. “I know my objective is to be with him but I don’t want him. I want _you_. I always have, you’re the most important person to me and..and-” Vladdy stopped when the tears that filled his eyes spilled over. 

“Vladdy…” 

“I know I shouldn’t feel this way but the person you love shouldn’t be chosen _for_ you.” Vladdy sniffed. “It’s not how it works!” 

Vladdy cried freely, he didn’t even know if Nikita was still in the room, he was too afraid to look. He startled when he felt shaking hands cup his face, wiping away his tears. He opened his eyes, meeting with Nikita’s equally glassy ones. Vladdy leaned into Nikita’s hands, enjoying the feel of them on his skin. 

“We shouldn’t do this, Vladdy.” Nikita said quietly, even as his fingers played with Vladdy’s hairline.

“Who cares if we shouldn’t,” Vladdy replied. “We love each other. That’s all that _should_ matter.” 

“This is only making it harder to send you back.” Nikita trailed one his hands down to Vladdy’s side and pulled him closer.

“Then _don’t_ ,” Vladdy managed to say just as their lips met. Vladdy kissed Nikita hungrily and Nikita’s kisses were just as needy as his own, their feelings finally bubbling to the surface. 

Vladdy pulled the kiss to a close with a few soft presses, leaning his forehead against Nikita’s to enjoy being in his embrace. 

“I’ve always wondered what it was like to be in your arms.” Vladdy sighed, burying his face in Nikita’s neck. 

“Hope it’s everything you imagined,” Nikita said as he rubbed Vladdy’s back.

“Even better.” Vladdy kissed Nikita’s neck, nuzzling into his beard. “I need you so much.” 

Vladdy knew Nikita had no choice but to send him back but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy what little time they had left. Nikita kissed Vladdy’s temple, sliding his hand into Vladdy’s, leading him towards the bedroom. 

“I have always been yours, Vladdy,” Nikita kissed Vladdy softly. “Honestly, I didn’t think my feelings would be returned.”

“Funny how love works, huh?” Vladdy laughed, nuzzling him. “I choose to love you and nothing will change that.” Vladdy pushed Nikita on the chest gently wanting him to get up on the bed. Nikita obliged, pulling Vladdy with him. 

Vladdy sighed when his back hit the bed, enjoying the sight of Nikita over him. He grabbed Nikita’s hips and pulled him down on top of him. 

“Kiss me, please,” Vladdy pleaded quietly. Nikita immediately claimed Vladdy’s lips. The kiss started innocently enough but hands began to roam and it turned deeper. Vladdy shuddered at Nikita’s hands slowly running down his sides and under his shirt, kneading his skin. 

Nikita tore his lips away, pushing Vladdy’s shirt up and kissing the skin as it came into view. 

“Stop it,” Vladdy laughed. 

“I didn’t know you were ticklish,” Nikita smiled, kissing at the spot again making Vladdy squirm.

“Me either,” Vladdy tapped Nikita on the forehead with his finger, urging him back up. 

Nikita buried his face in Vladdy’s neck, sucking and biting at the skin. A small moan escaped Vladdy when Nikita kissed around his ears.

“Oh, I found a spot,” Nikita nibbled on his earlobe. 

“Y-yes, you did.” Vladdy bucked his hips up, smiling when Nikita groaned against him. 

Nikita kissed a line up Vladdy’s jaw and to his lips, mingling their tongues together immediately. Vladdy hitched his legs up Nikita’s thighs, trying to close the distance between them. He clenched Nikita’s hair, grinding their hips together. 

Vladdy gripped Nikita’s hips, helping to steady their rhythm. He shuddered at the sensation of Nikita’s hands running down his sides and underneath him to squeeze his ass. Vladdy gasped in surprise when Nikita lifted Vladdy’s hips, just enough to change the friction to bring Vladdy closer to the finish. 

“I love you so much,” Vladdy gasped out between kisses.

“I love you too.” Nikita returned, his movements becoming more erratic and their breaths heaving with emotion carried them both over the edge. 

Nikita fell onto the bed next to Vladdy but he grabbed Vladdy’s hand immediately and played with his fingers. 

“I wish I could stay with you forever,” Vladdy brought Nikita’s fingers to his lips. 

“Believe me, I don’t want to send you back,” Nikita rolled over to his side and pulled Vladdy into his embrace. 

“We should just run away,” Vladdy suggested. 

“You know how many times I’ve thought about doing that?” Nikita smiled but it waned quickly. “But they would erase you in an instant with a push of a button. I _wish_ there was a way I could keep you.” 

Vladdy caressed Nikita’s face, “Me too.” He sighed. “But for now, I just want to enjoy this with you...actually, let’s clean up first.” 

Nikita laughed and agreed, pulling Vladdy to the bathroom. They haphazardly cleaned themselves up, getting distracting more times than either wanted to admit, before spending the next few hours cuddling under the covers.


	4. Chapter 4

“I look silly with all these nodes on my face, Braydon.” Slater huffed at one of the wires that had fallen in front of his face. 

“Sorry, I have to use them to get a better picture of what’s going on in your head,” Braydon readjusted some of the wires. 

Slater smiled and let Braydon go back to his work. He didn’t like going into the lab so much but Braydon needed to run more tests to give to those unfriendly scientists. He tore his gaze away from Braydon’s fingers typing effortlessly on the keyboard, shifting his attention to the other side of the lab, where Vladdy and Nikita were. 

Slater thought something was different about them since the last time he saw them. He watched as Nikita ran a soft hand slowly down Vladdy’s arm, wrapping a device around his wrist and squeezing his hand before running a series of tests. Slater noticed how they stared at each other, every touch lingered longer than it should and the space between them just seemed more _intimate_ but there was something else too. 

“Hey,” Slater turned back to Braydon. “Earth to Slater.” Braydon smirked.

“I’m listening,” Slater stuck out his tongue.

“Okay, what did I say?” Braydon looked amused. 

“You need to...leave the lab for a bit…” 

“Lucky guess,” Braydon rolled his eyes. He grabbed Slater’s file in his hand, patting Slater on top of the head with it. “I’ll be back.” 

“Kay,” Slater grinned. 

Braydon and Nikita departed, leaving Vladdy and Slater alone. 

Slater hopped off the table and started to make his way over to Vladdy but stopped when he almost pulled the whole machine with him. He’d forgotten about all of the stupid nodes that were still attached to him.

“Woah, let me help!” Vladdy disconnected himself and ran over to help Slater.

“Thanks,” Slater laughed. “That would have been a mess!” 

“And then some,” Vladdy shook his head. “Were you coming over to talk to me about something?”

“Yes, actually,” Slater ran a hand through his hair. “What’s going on with you and Nikita?”

“N-nothing is g-going on!” Vladdy turned red and looked away.

“Your reaction says otherwise,” Slater smirked. “I thought you had to go back to that other guy soon…”

“I do,” Vladdy sighed. “In a few days, actually. I don’t want to go back but I really don’t have a choice.”

Slater frowned, he didn’t like the dejected look on Vladdy’s face. 

“Hey, how about you two come over tonight and I’ll make dinner!” Slater suggested, smiling when Vladdy brightened at the idea.

“That would be nice, that way we can talk a little more,” Vladdy play punched Slater in the arm. “Little brother.” 

“Good cause I want my big brother to tell me all the details about his new boyfriend,” Slater teased, grinning at Vladdy getting flustered again. 

Their conversation ended when Nikita and Braydon returned.

“What did you do to the wires?” Braydon raised an eyebrow.

“I, uh, forgot I was attached,” Slater shrugged. “Nothing’s broken though, promise.” 

“Yeah, I stopped him before he could cause any damage,” Vladdy chimed in.

“Oh yeah, can we have Vladdy and Nikita over for dinner?” Slater asked. Maybe he should’ve asked Braydon first, but he didn’t think he would say no.

“Absolutely!” Braydon smiled. “How’s eight o’clock sound for you two?”

“Sounds good to me,” Nikita answered. “What good takeout have you found lately, Braydon?”

“Nuh uh, no more takeout.” Slater waved his hand. “ _I’m_ cooking.”

“He makes a delicious lasagna.” 

“I’m glad Slater is turning your diet around, Braydon.” Nikita laughed. 

“Let’s get back to work so we aren’t stuck here all night,” Braydon pulled Slater back to his side of the lab. 

~

“Okay.” Slater clapped his hands together. “Lasagna should be finished soon!”

“It smells delicious in here,” Braydon closed his eyes and sniffed the air. 

“Nikita and Vladdy are in for a treat!” Slater beamed. He’d just started making the antipasto when there was a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Braydon headed that direction.  


Slater could hear Braydon inviting Nikita and Vladdy inside from down the hall.

“Long time no see,” Vladdy walked into the kitchen with a cheesecake.

“I know it’s been _hours_.” Slater replied dramatically. “That looks amazing. Did you make it?”

“Hell no,” Vladdy shook his head. “I’m not programmed for cooking _or_ baking. That would be a disaster.”

“Who cares?” Slater shrugged. “If you want to do something, do it.” 

“If only it were that easy.” 

“It is,” Slater finished his antipasto, placing it on the dinner table. “You just have to stop thinking you’re bound by what they say you can do.” 

“Guess it doesn’t hurt to try…”

“Yeah!” Slater clasped Vladdy on the shoulder. “Start with breakfast, make scrambled eggs and toast for Nikita. He’ll _love_ it!” 

“Maybe if my time with him wasn’t so short lived.” 

Slater frowned, it wasn’t his intention to make Vladdy upset, he could see how much they cared about each other and he knew the thought of being apart was tearing them up. Slater was just about to say something to try and cheer Vladdy up when the oven timer chimed.

“Oh, the lasagna is done!” Slater grabbed his oven mitts to retrieve it.

“Need any help?” Vladdy asked.

“Nah, I got it. Just tell our lovely scientists that dinner is ready.” 

Vladdy grabbed Nikita and Braydon and they all set themselves up at the dinner table. Slater triumphantly placed the lasagna down in the middle of the table and began serving out pieces.

Dinner was relatively quiet at first, save for the sounds of utensils on plates. Slater knew his food was good because of the silence. He looked across the table at Nikita and Vladdy, smiling to himself because he was pretty sure they were holding hands under the table. 

“You know, you two don’t have to hide it here, right?” Braydon said, sipping his wine. 

“What are you talking about?” Nikita asked.

“I don’t think you two realize how much you give yourself away,” Braydon shrugged. 

“Still not sure where you’re going with this…” 

“You’re holding hands under the table.”

“W-what?!” Nikita dropped his fork. 

“N-no! No, w-we’re not.” Vladdy looked down in his lap, clearly embarrassed. 

Slater stared at Braydon with wide eyes, he didn’t think Braydon noticed what was going on with Vladdy and Nikita. He was more observant than Slater thought. 

“Sure,” Braydon smirked, “And Nikita didn’t caress Vladdy’s jaw earlier in the lab during diagnostics.” 

“Shit,” Nikita frowned.

“I don’t even think you always realize when you do it,” Braydon went back to eating. “It’s no big deal though. It was just us in there.”

“You’re safe around us,” Slater added, watching Vladdy hesitantly reach for Nikita’s hand. 

Nikita opened his palm and threaded their fingers together, leaning over to peck Vladdy on the forehead. Slater sighed to himself and looked at Braydon, wishing they could have that.

“I didn’t realize we were so obvious,” Nikita shook his head.

“Please, you’ve been in love with Vladdy for as long as I can remember. And him, you.” Braydon indicated Vladdy with his head. “Can you get another extension to keep Vladdy longer?”

Nikita sighed, “No, I can’t ask for another extension.”

“My days are numbered no matter what I do,” Vladdy shook his head. “Rupert said if he has to send me back again he’s going to decommission me.”

“What the fuck?” Slater was appalled. “That’s a thing?!”

“That idiot thinks it’s a malfunction when Vladdy gets anxious in uncomfortable situations so he sends him back constantly.” Nikita growled.

“So, let him do that then.” Braydon stated simply.

“What?!” The three of them echoed.

“Let him send Vladdy back and we’ll ‘decommission’ him,” Braydon made air quotes with his fingers.

“Can we actually do that?” Nikita raised an eyebrow.

“All you need is a pulse and the fingerprint textures.” Braydon scratched at his scruff. “There’s so many random parts laying around. We’ll piece something together, add the pulse and add Vladdy’s textures. The computer won’t know the difference.”

“And then Vladdy’s file won’t exist in _TBL Industries_ ,” Nikita’s voice was awestruck.

“And he’ll be free.” Braydon finished with a smile.

“Isn’t this a little dangerous though?” Vladdy asked. 

“I’m willing to risk it if you are,” Nikita squeezed Vladdy’s hand. Vladdy stared at Nikita intently for a minute before turning back to Braydon.

“You don’t have to be involved with this, Braydon.”

“I want to help. Plus, you need me for the fingerprints, you know I’m better at them than you,” Braydon grinned.

“Me too!” Slater jumped in. 

“Thank you,” Vladdy’s eyes appeared glassy.

“What are brothers for?” Slater winked. 

The other three laughed and they continued with their dinner. Nikita and Braydon discussed their plan while Slater kept Vladdy occupied. 

They retired to the living room to watch a movie together. Slater thought the way Vladdy curled into Nikita on the couch was adorable. He was glad he could help them. Slater spared a few glances at Braydon again. Maybe he could have that one day too.


	5. Chapter 5

Nikita and Braydon were in the lab working furiously on the decoy to fool the computer. They only had a few days to get so much complicated work done before Vladdy went back to Rupert. Nikita activated the pulse on the base model, happy when the monitor recognized the steady beat.

“How are those fingerprint textures coming, Braydon?” Nikita turned to Braydon who was hunched over his desk, staring at his screen.

“Almost done,” Braydon answered, he sat back and rubbed his eyes. “These are very intricate.”

“Do you really think this will work?” 

“I do,” Braydon stretched. “I’ve gone through all the protocols for decommissions. The computer scans for pulse and fingerprint textures.” 

“It just seems too easy,” Nikita couldn’t shake a bad feeling that they were missing something.

“There’s only been two droids decommissioned before. It’s not exactly commonplace so it doesn’t really need to be difficult,” Braydon cracked his neck, leaning back over to go back to work. 

“I guess.” 

They worked in silence until Braydon announced he was done with the textures.

“Let’s see if the computer recognizes them as Vladdy,” Braydon imprinted the textures on the model and ran the scan. 

_Analyzing…_  
_Retrieving Profile…_  
_VL4DD-Y_

They both bumped fists when Vladdy’s information popped up on the screen. 

“The boys will be happy to hear about this,” Braydon smiled. “Why did they go to the mall today anyway?”

“Oh, Vladdy said Slater wanted to go shopping and bond over people watching.” 

“Slater’s all about bonding with Vladdy.” 

“And with you.” Nikita smirked. His smile widened when he saw Braydon falter. 

“That’s just his personality,” Braydon dismissed with a wave of his hand. “He’s very personable. Gets along with everyone.”

“I don’t think so,” Nikita muttered under his breath. He snapped his head towards the door when it opened.

“Dr. Johnson, Dr. Palat,” Braydon stood up, quickly switching off the screen with Vladdy’s information on it. “What brings you two here?”

“Well, we were coming to ask your opinions on a few things but…”

“Since when do you call us anything other than our first names?”

“It’s just been so long since we’ve seen you guys,” Nikita answered quickly.

“Hmm, I don’t think that’s it,” Tyler walked over to Nikita, looking at the model laying on the table behind him.

Nikita’s heart was pounding in his chest. This was it, they were caught and were both going to jail and Vladdy was going to be destroyed. 

Tyler’s gaze shifted to Nikita’s, a smile playing about his lips.

“Don’t forget to do the retinals.” 

“What?” Nikita let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“If you want to fake a decommission you need the retinals too,” Ondrej looked at Braydon’s computer. “Your textures are impeccable, by the way.”

“Uh, thanks,” Braydon looked at Nikita, confusion etched all over his face.

“The computer only needs a pulse and textures for a decommission,” Nikita frowned. “That’s what the protocols say.”

“There’s a need to know step in the process,” Tyler sat on the edge of Nikita’s desk. “The computer will scan for retinal patterns as the last step before decommissioning.” 

“It’s an easy way to keep people honest because if you’re trying to be sneaky about it, they’ll catch you if you don’t know about the retinals,” Ondrej continued.

“So, why are you telling us about this?” Braydon cocked his head. 

“Because you need to know,” Ondrej replied. “Don’t forget we were part of the first decommission.”

“That was J-0, right?” Nikita remembered all the frenzy surrounding that case because it was the first time.

“Just because they’re a droid doesn’t mean they aren’t a person,” Tyler shook his head. “His name was Jo and you didn’t have see how sad he was that day.”

“He was so upset, didn’t know what was going to happen to him,” Ondrej frowned. “He asked us if it was going to hurt and we couldn’t give him an answer.”

“It wasn’t a machine that was destroyed that day. It was a person...all because the man who commissioned him arbitrarily decided that he didn’t want Jo anymore,” Tyler sounded disgusted. 

“But there was another droid that was decommissioned. C0R-Y, right?” Braydon asked.

“Yes, Cory,” Ondrej nodded.

“He lives at home with us now,” Tyler smiled.

“Wait,” Nikita’s eyes widened. “You already faked a decommission?!”

“It wasn’t easy to do, let’s put it that way,” Ondrej said. “Retinals are _extremely_ difficult to replicate. Tooks us days to make sure Cory’s were right.”

“Just be careful,” Tyler clasped Nikita on the shoulder, smiling. “I see the way you and Vladdy look at each other.” 

“Oh,” Nikita blushed, returning Tyler’s smile. “Thanks.” 

“Good luck and be careful,” Tyler gave a tiny salute. 

“Thank you, both of you,” Braydon shook Ondrej’s hand. 

Tyler and Ondrej said their goodbyes leaving Nikita and Braydon to the difficult task of replicating Vladdy’s retinal textures. 

~~~

Nikita impatiently paced back and forth in his apartment. Vladdy returned to Rupert the day before and now he was just waiting on the call. He ran his hands over his face, patting his cheeks in an effort to calm himself down. 

Nikita threw himself down on his couch and sighed, trying to focus on something else. His thoughts shifted to the decommission itself. Nikita and Braydon finished Vladdy’s retinals but there was no way to know if it will succeed until they actually tried to do it. Nikita just wanted this to be all over and have Vladdy by his side. He missed Vladdy even though he’d only been gone for less than a day. 

He looked up when his phone rang, his heart began pounding in his chest. He reached for his phone, his shaking hands bobbling it.

“D-dr. Kucherov,” Nikita cleared his throat, hoping to even out his voice. 

“Rupert called to request your presence, Dr. Kucherov.” 

“Tell him I’ll be right over.”

“Yes, Dr. Kucherov.” 

Nikita hung up his phone and took a steadying breath. He needed to make sure he kept his emotions in check when he went to pick up Vladdy. Every fiber of his being wanted to punch Rupert, but Nikita had to keep the bigger picture in mind. 

His and Vladdy’s future was at stake.

Nikita called Braydon from the car, letting him know it was time, and then all that was left was the normally short car ride, which felt like an eternity. 

Nikita wasn’t surprised to see Rupert out in the driveway with Vladdy again. He was standing there tapping his foot, and it wouldn’t have surprised Nikita if he’d seen smoke billowing from his ears. “Stupid ears,” Nikita muttered to himself, steeling himself and stepping out of the car.

“Took you long enough!” Rupert snapped.

“I came as soon as you called.” 

“Should have been quicker.” Rupert shoved Vladdy forward. “All that time with you and he’s _still_ malfunctioning?!”

“I can assure you I did everything I could,” Nikita tried to sound apologetic; he worried he was failing but Rupert didn’t seem to notice or care.

“Obviously, you _didn’t_ ,” Rupert scoffed. “I’m done with this trash. He can go to the heap, where he belongs.” 

“You are requesting we decommission Vladdy?” Nikita pulled out his tablet and brought up the file he needed.

“Isn’t that what I just _said_?” Rupert rolled his eyes. 

Nikita fought the urge to scowl, he needed to focus at the task at hand. He felt Vladdy’s hand press against his back briefly in an effort to calm him. 

“Okay, then I’ll need your signature on this form giving _TBL Industries_ the authority to decommission Vladdy.” He shoved the tablet forward at Rupert.

“Fine, whatever,” Rupert hastily signed, stomping his way back towards his house. “Just get off my property.” 

“Well, that could have gone worse,” Vladdy headed towards the car.

“I think I did a good job of not hitting him,” Nikita agreed, opening the door.. 

“You did,” Vladdy reached for Nikita’s hand as they pulled away, threading their fingers together. “I’m not going to lie, Nikita. I’m nervous about what’s going to happen next.”

“Me too,” Nikita squeezed Vladdy’s hand. 

Nikita opened the car door for Vladdy when they arrived back at his place. He led Vladdy inside wanting to make sure he would be okay while he was gone.

“If everything goes well, I’ll be back soon.” Nikita caressed Vladdy’s cheek. 

Vladdy grabbed Nikita’s hand, turning it to press a kiss to the inside of his palm. 

“Please, come back to me,” Vladdy wrapped his arms around Nikita. 

“I will,” Nikita kissed Vladdy softly. “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” Vladdy nuzzled him. Nikita pressed one last kiss to Vladdy’s temple before leaving. 

~

“Everything’s ready to go,” Braydon said by way of greeting when Nikita walked into the lab.

“Perfect,” Nikita slipped into his lab coat. “The approval for decommission from our superiors has already come through.”

“Great,” Braydon loaded up the fake model on the table. “I hope we got this, Nikita.” 

Nikita looked to Braydon; this was the first time Braydon had shown any sort of doubt about the situation. 

“We’ve gone over this _at least_ a hundred times,” Nikita keyed up the decommission program. “It’ll work.” 

“Still nervous though?” 

“Petrified.” 

The computer began its sequence, long series of tones surrounded the room. 

_Initializing…_  
_Program: Decommission…_  
_Scanning: Pulse...Complete…_  
_Scanning: Fingerprint Textures…_  
_Retrieving Profile…_  
_VL4DD-Y…_

Nikita could feel his heartbeat pounding in sync with each beep from the computer. He stared at the screen with Vladdy’s profile blinking back at him waiting for the program to finish.

 _Scanning: Retinal textures…Complete..._  
_Decommissioning...Complete..._  
_Deleting Profile: VL4DD-Y..._  
_End Program…_

“It worked?” Nikita turned to Braydon who was staring at the screen. “We...did it?” 

Braydon pulled up the database and searched for Vladdy’s file but the computer said the file did not exist.

“We did it!” Braydon confirmed, excitement bleeding through his tone .

“Holy shit,” Nikita practically fell into his chair. “I can’t believe that worked.”

“We need to take Tyler and Ondrej out for dinner sometime,” Braydon laughed.

“Maybe a few dinners,” Nikita finally let his body relax, all the tension he had been carrying with him finally melting away. 

“I’ll clean up everything,” Braydon squeezed Nikita’s shoulder. “I think you and Vladdy have a lot to celebrate tonight.” 

“You know what,” Nikita stood up. “We do.” He left his lab and Braydon’s laughter behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

Slater mindlessly flipped through channels on the television, not particularly watching anything. Slater needed every distraction because he knew that he was going to have to go to whoever commissioned him soon. It was no secret that he didn’t want to go, he’d voiced it early and often, not that it seemed to matter. 

He looked over at where Braydon was hunched over his desk, sighing to himself. Slater just wanted to stay with Braydon. He knew Braydon had feelings for him. It wasn’t like they weren’t flirting constantly, even if Braydon made himself stop as soon as he realized. Most of the time, anyway. 

And it wasn’t like Slater hadn’t tried to push the envelope with Braydon on more than one occasion. Once he’d been so close to getting Braydon to kiss him, but he’d stopped himself, muttered like ten apologies, and practically ran from the room. 

He sighed again, grabbing the nearest couch pillow and hugging it against himself. 

“An awful lot of sighing going on over there,” Braydon spoke.

“Sorry,” Slater muttered, not taking his eyes off the television. He laid his chin against the pillow, not even trying to fight his pout.

“What’s wrong, Slater?” 

Slater heard Braydon’s chair scrape against the hardwood floor and his feet padding over to him. The spot next to him dipped down and he finally looked away from the screen.

“Nothing’s wrong.” 

“You are a bad liar, you know,” Braydon smirked at him.

“Am not..I’m not lying.” He frowned, then tried to settle his features into something more neutral, but he knew he was failing miserably. Slater was no good at hiding how he felt but he wanted to be petulant with Braydon about it. 

“Come on, Slater,” Braydon pressed.

“Why do you keep pushing away from me?”

“Um,” Braydon played with the hem of his shirt, “What do you mean?”

“I know you love me, Braydon,” Slater leaned in. 

Braydon backed away quickly.

“I-I don’t...that’s n-not…” Braydon stuttered, clearly trying to find the words but failing. 

“Braydon,” Slater reached for Braydon, smiling when Braydon didn’t reject him. “It’s okay because I love you too.” 

“No,” Braydon said firmly. “No. You can’t be in love with me. Your objective is to fall in love with the person who commissioned you.” 

“No,” Slater returned. “You said I was supposed to fall in love. And I _did_. With _you_.” 

“This isn’t supposed to happen.” Braydon shook his head, standing to leave but Slater grabbed his arm. “This _can’t_ happen.” 

“And why not?” 

“You aren’t for me.” 

Slater moved his hand to cup Braydon’s cheek, running his fingers lightly over the scruff there.

“Yes, I am,” Slater bridged the gap between them, claiming Braydon’s lips. Braydon kissed Slater back briefly.

“Slater.” Braydon broke the kiss and buried his face in Slater’s neck. Slater felt Braydon taking in his scent. 

“There’s nothing wrong with being in love,” Slater nuzzled into Braydon’s hair, threading his fingers into it. He felt Braydon relax in his arms. “It’s okay to love me.”

Braydon pulled back and cupped Slater’s face in both hands, bringing their lips together again. Slater waited for Braydon to deepen it, he could feel Braydon’s apprehension melt away the longer their lips touched. 

“I love you so much,” Slater whispered on his lips. 

“I…” Braydon clenched his eyes shut and sighed.

“Yeah?”

“I...I love you too,” Braydon said slowly.

Slater gently caressed Braydon’s face, just wanting to memorize his features at this very moment. Braydon’s normally contained features now softer and vulnerable. He liked seeing this side of Braydon. 

“Can we…” Slater ran his hands up and down Braydon’s chest, gripping the front of his shirt. “I want to…” He kissed him with fervor, hoping Braydon would pick up on his desire. 

Braydon grabbed Slater’s hands and helped him up. He led Slater to his bedroom silently, a look of panic flashed across his face when they stopped in front of the bed.

“It’s okay,” Slater ran a hand down Braydon’s cheek with the back of his hand. “If you don’t-”

“No,” Braydon cut him off. “I want to. You have no idea how much I want this.”

“I think I may have an idea.” 

“In the end though, you’re still not for me.” 

“No, I _am_ yours,” Slater climbed into the bed and pulled Braydon on top of himself. “And I want you to touch me _everywhere_.” 

Slater guided Braydon’s hands down his torso. 

“Discover everything that is yours. As fast or as _slowly_ as you to need go,” He stopped Braydon’s hands at his hips, biting his lip when Braydon squeezed them. 

Braydon slid his hands under Slater’s shirt, lifting it up. His fingernails lightly dragging against his stomach making Slater shudder. 

Slater helped Braydon rid himself of his shirt, tossing it aside without another thought. 

“Maybe you should return the favor?” Slater tugged at Braydon’s collar. 

Braydon smiled and obliged. 

Slater fought the urge to moan at the sight of Braydon’s body, he hadn’t known how strong it was. 

“Wow,” Slater’s eyes traveled over the massive expanse of Braydon’s chest and up to his shoulders that were covered in freckles. Slater wanted to count them all with his lips. 

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?” Braydon rubbed Slater’s thighs, spreading them farther apart, settling himself in between.

“The feeling is mutual.” Slater arched his hips, a small moan escaping him when he felt Braydon’s desire for him. 

“Very mutual,” Braydon rolled his hips, groans leaving both of them. 

“I know I said we can take this slowly but,” Slater managed through heavy breaths and the removal of their rest of their clothes. “I don’t think that’s in the cards right now.”

“That’s fair enough,” Braydon chuckled, nuzzling Slater before claiming his lips. Braydon trailed his hands to the back of Slater’s thighs and lining himself up. Slater moaned at the feeling of Braydon ready to enter him.

“Mm, d’you have any lube?” 

“What?” Braydon blinked. “We don’t need any.”

Slater looked at Braydon, intending to ask what he meant by that when Braydon tightened the grip behind his knees and pressed into him. Braydon slipped in easily, much to Slater’s surprise and suddenly any questions he had could wait until afterwards. 

“W-wow. Braydon,” Slater shuddered.

“I know, love,” Braydon said between deep steadying breaths. 

Slater dug his fingers into Braydon’s shoulder blades. He buried his face in Braydon’s collarbone, biting down on it when he started to move over him. 

“Oh, fuck!” Slater threw his head back into the pillow. “Braydon! Braydon, Braydon...” Slater kept repeating the name on each thrust, over and over. He couldn’t stop if he wanted to. It seemed to spur Braydon on. 

“I love you,” Braydon gasped out, pressing their sweaty foreheads together, mingling their curls. 

“I l-love you too,” Slater managed after a few deep thrusts. 

Braydon placed a hand between them, wrapping it around Slater, stroking in time with his rhythm. Slater clenched his eyes shut, moaning loudly as he came. Braydon worked him through his orgasm. 

“You are absolutely beautiful like this,” Braydon heaved. 

Slater opened his eyes, gasping at the sight of Braydon, all flushed cheeks and hanging curls.

“You should see my view,” Slater purred, Braydon’s hips stuttered, his pleasure finally overcoming him. Slater wrapped his arms around Braydon when he collapsed on top of him, spent. 

They laid there together, not saying a word until their breathing evened out. 

“I’ll be right back,” Braydon pressed a kiss to Slater’s temple.

Slater whimpered at the loss of Braydon’s warm weight. Braydon disappeared into the bathroom, returning a minute later with a washcloth.

“The view is good coming and going,” Slater winked. 

Braydon laughed, kneeling on the side of the bed to clean up Slater. Slater loved how Braydon took care of him. Braydon finished up and joined Slater back on the bed, pulling him into his arms immediately. 

They laid in silence until Slater remembered his question from earlier.

“How come we didn’t need lube?” Slater raised an eyebrow.

“Oh,” Braydon pushed his curls out of his face, “You do it on your own. It’s a standard feature on all droids.”

“I just...do it?” 

“Yes, but it can be deactivated.” Braydon answered. “Some clients don’t want that option.” 

“I’d rather not have it,” Slater shook his head. “Can you turn mine off?”

“You know I don’t have a say in that, Slater.”

“Why can’t I just stay with you?” Slater curled into Braydon. 

“I have to fulfill the contract, I don’t have a choice,” Braydon held Slater tightly against him. “If I could I would let you stay in a heartbeat but it’s out of my hands. You know that.”

“Maybe he’ll send me back,” Slater tried to play it off as a joke, but he was completely serious. 

“You don’t send back someone who is perfect,” Braydon gently caressed Slater’s face.

Slater could see the conflict in Braydon’s eyes.

“If I have to go...I want to make the most of the rest of our time together,” Slater nuzzled Braydon.

“Me too,” Braydon kissed him. They spent the rest of the afternoon memorizing every inch of one another.


	7. Chapter 7

Slater stepped out of the car, looking up at the house in front of him. It was large, luxurious...and nothing like _home_. He stopped Braydon on the way up to the front door, pulling him into a tight hug. 

“I don’t want to go,” Slater sniffed, burying his face in Braydon’s neck. He breathed Braydon’s scent in deeply, never wanting to forget it. 

“I know,” Braydon wrapped his arms around Slater, rubbing his back gently. “But we have to do this.” 

“I don’t know if I can,” Slater hugged Braydon tighter. “I’ll miss you too much.”

“Hey,” Braydon pulled back, wiping away a stray tear that escaped Slater. He smiled, but it looked more like a grimace. “You’ll see me for the yearly maintenance.” 

“That’s not enough,” Slater pressed their foreheads together. “I need you. Every day.” 

“I wish that was possible,,” Braydon whispered. “But you’ll make a wonderful companion for him. I know you will.” 

“Braydon...”

“Slater,” Braydon cupped his face, “I need to see that perfect smile from you, okay? For me?”

Slater wiped at his tears and tried to put on his best face. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply in an attempt to calm himself. 

He _had_ to do this for Braydon. 

He _could_ do this for Braydon.

Slater took one last steadying breath and flashed a smile that he knew would please Braydon.

“There it is,” Braydon pressed a gentle kiss to Slater’s lips. “You can do this.” 

“Anything for you,” Slater said quietly. He hugged Braydon one more time and followed Braydon toward the house. 

Braydon rang the doorbell once they arrived. Slater was attempting to touch Braydon one last time, but the door opened quickly, revealing a young man with an upturned nose. 

“Good evening! You must be Dr. Coburn,” He held his hand out.

“Yes, I am, Mr. Dotchin,” Braydon shook his hand.

“Call me Jake,” He held the door open for them. “And this must be..”

“This is Slater.” Braydon answered. “I hope he is to your liking.” 

“Yes, thank you.” 

Slater took the time to look at his surroundings, tuning out the sound of Braydon explaining...whatever. Jake’s place was nice enough, nothing overly fancy. The inside of the house looked simple yet warm and comfortable compared to the expensive looking exterior. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy that spent money on anything frivolous. 

Slater startled when he was addressed by Jake.

“Do you want to say goodbye?” Jake smiled at him.

Slater opened his mouth but the lump in his throat prevented him from speaking, so he just nodded instead. 

“Okay, I’ll be in the living room when you’re done,” Jake turned and left Slater alone with Braydon.

“He seems nice.” 

“Yeah, he does.” 

“You’ll have a good life, Slater.” 

“My life would be _perfect_ with you,” Slater stepped closer to Braydon but refrained from touching him. 

“Slater, please, don’t do this,” Braydon’s voice hitched at the end. 

“I’m sorry,” Slater looked at his feet. “I just...you know…” 

“I know,” Braydon looked around them, reaching a hesitant hand towards Slater. He gave Slater’s hand a tight, brief squeeze. “Goodb-”

“Don’t say it,” Slater shook his head. “Don’t leave it at that.” 

“How about this then?” Braydon leaned in. “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” Slater breathed out, his words barely audible as he tried to contain himself. 

Braydon pulled himself away and walked towards the door. He glanced back at Slater once more before leaving. 

Slater buried his face in his hands to trying to stifle the sob that wanted to leave him. His whole body shivered with the shaky breath that left his lips. He lifted his head and steeled himself as best he could. He headed the direction Jake went earlier, gasping when he entered the large living room that was nothing but walls of windows. 

“The view is breathtaking, yeah?” Jake asked from the couch he was lounging on. He patted the spot next to him.

“It is quite the view,” Slater sat down next to Jake. He stared outside the window, looking at the city covered in the warm glow of the setting sun. 

“Do you like sunsets?” 

Slater looked back out at the oranges, reds, and yellows...and felt empty. “I used to.” 

~

Slater was in the kitchen finishing up breakfast. Slater started cooking the meals in the two weeks since he’d arrived, despite Jake’s objections. It was just that Slater needed some sort of distraction so he wasn’t moping in his free time. 

Jake was actually somewhat surprising to Slater, none of the assumptions that he’d made about the guy had turned out to be the case. Slater hadn’t believed Jake at first when he said he didn’t have maids, cooks, or any help at all, that Jake did all the upkeep for his home on his own...but he did. 

“Can I ask you something?” Slater looked at Jake across the table in the breakfast nook.

“Sure, what’s up?” 

“Why did you want me?” Slater cocked his head. “You don’t need me to clean, you really don’t even want me to cook. All I basically do is hang out with you.”

“Look, I know I fight you on the cooking, but you really are an amazing cook,” Jake laughed. “But, I, uh…”

“I mean, most people get us for-”

“I know what most people get droids for, Slater.” Jake sat back in his chair. “But that’s not why I commissioned you. I just wanted a companion, a friend; nothing more.” 

“But _why_?” Slater didn’t really understand Jake’s motivation. “You could’ve had _more_!”

“You’re right. I could.” Jake shrugged. “I guess that was maybe my hope in the end since I asked for that particular objective. To start as a companion and progress to something more. I don’t think that will be the case with us though.”

“What do you mean?” 

“I was rather vague with my specifications. Don’t get me wrong, you are absolutely amazing. You’re kind and sweet and you make a great friend but you’re...not my _type_ , let’s put it that way.” 

Slater couldn’t help but laugh.

“So, what makes me _not_ your type?” Slater smirked. He was genuinely curious about what Jake liked. He didn’t want to be that for Jake, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t curious. 

“Well, for one, you’re too tall,” Jake ticked off his finger.

“I’m not _that_ tall, jeesh.”

“You’re only like an inch shorter than me, Slater! It’s too close!” 

“What else?” 

“Your particular Canadian accent is nice enough, but I much prefer a French one,” Jake answered. “And your smile is _perfect_ but there’s just something about a cute lopsided smile that gets me.” 

“I remember one of the scientists said you requested me to be ‘feisty’. I am not that either?” 

“You’re a different kind of feisty. Maybe I should’ve put down fiery and sassy.”

They both laughed and lapsed into a comfortable silence. Slater felt bad that Jake was lonely, even though it was mostly his own fault. Sometimes Slater just got so wrapped up in missing Braydon that he shut himself off from everything, Jake included. He just...just missed Braydon _so much_. And Jake, he always gave Slater his space. He was so kind, and sometimes it made Slater wish that it could be something, but he just wasn’t Braydon.

“You’ve been a great companion so far, Slater.”

“Oh,” Slater perked up. “I’m glad we get along so well. I’ve liked getting to know you.”

“Thank you,” Jake smiled. He paused, looked to be debating something. “I know you’re not happy here, Slater.”

“W-what are you talking about?” 

“I saw you outside with Braydon on the day you arrived.” 

“I can..It’s not..” Slater gripped the edge of the table. He really didn’t know what he could say to make it okay, but he had to try. “I’ll explain! He-”

“There’s nothing to explain, Slater,” Jake held up his hand. He stood, grabbing their plates and leaving the room. 

Slater stared at the table, absolutely mortified that Jake had witnessed their intimate moment. He worried because Jake could report Braydon and have Slater himself decommissioned. He didn’t think Jake was that kind of person who would do that sort of thing, but at the same time... 

“Fuck.” 

Slater spent the rest of the day avoiding Jake, which was easy considering Jake spent most of his day in his painting studio. Jake wasn’t particularly good at painting (Slater’d seen some of his work) but he loved doing it, and whatever kept Jake busy left Slater to his wallowing. 

Slater was wasting time in the living room that evening, reading, when Jake walked into the room. 

“We’re going to have a guest over for dinner tonight,” Jake smiled. 

“Oh,” Slater put his book down. “Should I make something special for dinner then?”

“You can if you like; just let me know if you need any help. They’ll be here at eight, okay?” 

Jake left the room without another word. Slater looked at the clock to determine when he should start cooking, then went back to his book.

~

“Damn, you really can make anything,” Jake watched Slater twirl the pizza dough into the air.

“It’s nothing special,” Slater tossed the dough a few more times. “I thought of making filet mignon, but I’ve been wanting to make a pizza.”

“It’s a special pizza...that I will ruin with my horrible knife cuts on these black olives.” 

“They don’t have to be perfect, Jake.”

He was glad that everything seemed normal with them. Jake hadn’t brought up their earlier conversation, they just carried on as normal. Slater was still a bit worried about who this guest was. 

He hoped this wasn’t going to be his literal last meal. 

Slater pushed all the bad thoughts from his head, focusing on making dinner. He was pulling the finished pizza out of the oven just before eight o’clock, pausing to admire how the cheese bubbled. 

“Wow, that looks amazing; if I didn’t know any better I would’ve thought you ordered it,” Jake teased while Slater cut the pizza.

“Homemade is way better than take out, any day,” Slater answered, walking the pizza into the dining room. He looked up when he heard the doorbell ring. 

“I’ll get it!”

Jake left the room, the worry and fear Slater kept trying to push down came rushing back to the surface. It all melted away a minute later, replaced with surprise and excitement when Braydon walked in with Jake.

“Braydon?!”

“Hi, Slater,” Braydon’s soft smile made Slater’s heart flutter. 

Oh, how he had missed that smile. 

Jake turned to Braydon. “You’re just in time. Slater just finished making this pizza and now we can enjoy it.”

Slater was about to dig into his his first slice when Jake spoke.

“You’re probably wondering why I invited you over tonight.”

“Yeah, uh, I was surprised by the invitation,” Braydon glanced at Slater briefly. 

“I’ll just get right to the point,” Jake cleared his throat. “I invited you over here because I wanted to tell you I’m giving Slater to you.”

“What?!” Slater and Braydon echoed each other.

“I know you two have feelings for each other. I don’t feel right keeping Slater here when he’s clearly unhappy. He deserves to be happy, and that’s something I can easily make happen.”

“Jake, I..” Slater trailed off, at a complete loss for words. 

“This is...how did you know?” Braydon’s voice shook.

“I saw you two outside the day you came with Slater. And even if I didn’t, I would’ve figured it out eventually, especially considering the way Slater talks about you.” Jake smirked. “Constantly.”

“You’re absolutely amazing, I hope you know that,” Slater choked up a bit. “I don’t think I could even begin to repay you.”

“Maybe I can commission a replacement for you?” Braydon suggested.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jake shook his head. “I don’t need anything from this.”

Slater stared at Jake. He couldn’t believe this man that he’d met only two weeks ago was doing all of this for him. The gesture was almost too grand and Jake didn’t even want anything in return. 

“We have to do something to make it up to you,” Braydon said.

“I just want Slater happy,” Jake smiled. “You should be with the one you love.”

“Are you sure there isn’t anything?” Slater asked.

“Maybe visit me once in awhile? That would be nice.”

“I can do that, for sure.”

After they finished up dinner Jake made sure to give Braydon all of Slater’s documents just in case they were ever needed. Slater almost knocked Jake over with a hug when they were saying goodbye. 

“Thank you, Jake. Thank you,” Slater squeezed him hard. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

“I think I get the gist,” Jake chuckled, patting Slater on the back. “You deserve all the happiness in the world and I’m glad I can help you achieve that.”

“I’m going to find a way to make this up to you, promise,” Slater pulled back and beamed at him. 

“I told you that you didn’t have to.”

“Yep, I know.” 

Slater and Braydon waved to Jake as they left. Slater wondered if the silence of their car ride was because Braydon was just as amazed with what had just happened as he was.

Braydon’s door slamming jolted him from his musings. Slater scrambled to join him. 

“I’m so glad to be back at your place,” he said when they were walking through the front door.

“ _Our_ place.” Braydon pulled Slater towards him, kissing him passionately. 

“I think I’d like to get reacquainted with _our_ bed then,” Slater purred.

Braydon responded by picking up a Slater and carrying him to the bedroom, Slater’s laugh echoing through the hall.


	8. Chapter 8

Jake dipped his brush in the blue paint, adding the color to the canvas with broad strokes of his brush. His original idea for a beachscape somehow turned into a storm with lightning bolts jutting out all over. 

He finished and started to clean his brushes, his thoughts shifting to Slater. Jake was happy with his decision, because just seeing the look on Slater’s face when Braydon appeared at dinner was enough to convince Jake his choice was the right one. 

Jake was still lonely though.

He sighed. Slater visited him everyday because Braydon was working on some big project but Slater wasn’t someone who could help with Jake’s lingering loneliness. Truth be told, Jake really did crave something _more_. 

Jake startled when the doorbell rang. He looked at his watch; it was still too early for Slater to come over.

He opened the door. A small gasp escaped him when his eyes fell on the young man standing in his doorway. He had short, tight curly hair, chubby cheeks with cheekbones that still managed to poke through, and the bluest eyes Jake had ever seen. 

“Um.” Jake blinked. “Hi?”

“Hi,” the man beamed up at him.

Jake’s eyes widened at how perfectly lopsided the man’s smile was and the way it made his eyes sparkle. 

“C-can I help you?” 

Jake wondered if maybe the guy had the wrong house, there was no way someone like this was looking for _him_.

“Sorry, guess I should introduce myself.”

Jake’s knees went weak at the French accent rolling off his lips...his really pink, perfectly shaped-

“I’m Y4NN-I, but call me Yanni. Slater sent me.” 

“What?” Jake shook his head. “You’re...Slater…?”

“Yep.” Yanni beamed. “Can I come in?”

“Oh. Of course.” Jake stepped aside to let Yanni in. He lingered over Yanni’s curls again when he walked by, noticing all the little waves within the curls and wow, Jake had to stop himself from staring. 

“I like your place, it’s really homey.”

“Oh, thanks.” Jake blushed. “You, um, Slater sent you?”

“He did!” Yanni held out the folder in his hand. “Here’s all my stuff. You just have to sign everything and it will be official. Slater said we can give it back to him at dinner tonight.”

“Wait. What?” 

Papers? Dinner? A lot of things were being thrown at Jake and he needed a minute to process it all. 

“These are your papers,” Jake pulled them out of the folder.

Everything was already documented that Yanni was for Jake and the payment was already taken care of. The only thing Jake had to do was sign where the brightly colored stickers were located. 

“I think you’ll find I meet _all_ of your specifications.” Yanni’s lopsided smile came into full bloom again.

Jake’s heart thumped hard in his chest. 

“Right down to the last detail,” Jake muttered, looking over Yanni’s papers.

“Oh, I don’t have auto lubrication though because Slater hates it but Braydon _insisted_ that you know how to activate it because you wanted it before.” 

“I...um...” Jake blushed heavily at Yanni’s words. “That’s totally up to you...either is completely f-fine.” 

“Hmm. I don’t know which I prefer. Maybe we can try both one day.” 

“One day…” Jake echoed, turning even redder. 

“You’re turning as bright as my Crystal,” Yanni laughed, reaching into his pocket. “Speaking of, here.” 

Yanni held out a small velvet box. Jake’s hand trembled when he took it. He popped it opened and looked at the small Crystal inside. All droids were powered by one and whoever commissioned them received a small piece as a keepsake.

“Slater said Braydon’s going to put his Crystal in a ring, I bet that will be beautiful.” Yanni looked at his own. “What are you going to do with mine? Maybe put it on a necklace so I’m always close to your heart?” 

Yanni traced a small heart on Jake’s shirt with his finger. 

“That’s not a bad idea.” Jake smiled.

“We have some time to kill before dinner, why don’t you give me a tour?” Yanni asked, leaning into Jake, blinking up at him. “And we can get to know each other better too.”

“R-right.” Jake cleared his throat while he turned. “Right. Follow me.” 

~~~~~

“That cake you made looks delicious.” Jake said conversationally while they walked down the hallway to Slater and Braydon’s place.

“I know, I had to swat your hand away multiple times today to make sure you didn’t ruin the icing,” Yanni laughed.

Jake joined in.

“Did they ask you to bring a dessert?” 

“No, I _told_ Slater I was bringing it. We had to bring _something_. This is their engagement dinner! It’s special!”

“This dinner is definitely different than the one we attended six months ago, that’s for sure.” Jake leaned over to peck Yanni on the cheek. 

“And all the ones in between, too.” 

Jake knocked on the door when they arrived. Slater pulled it open almost immediately, practically tackling Jake in a hug. It had become a thing between them, not that Jake minded. 

“I’m so glad you guys are here!” Slater squeezed Jake before letting him go. 

Slater let them in, taking the cake from Yanni. Jake and Yanni headed to the living room where Braydon was talking with Nikita and Vladdy. 

“Have a seat, guys,” Braydon motioned to the room. 

They both fell into an empty loveseat. Jake wrapped his arm around Yanni, pulling him close. Yanni sighed happily, fidgeting with his Crystal that hung from Jake’s neck. 

“So, what did you two decide to do with the rings?” Vladdy asked when Slater returned to his spot next to Braydon.

“I split the Crystal and put a stone in each ring,” Braydon toyed with Slater’s ring. 

Jake admired Slater’s ring when he held it out. The way the light hit the Crystal was beautiful. 

Jake loved how each of them had their own way to display their Crystals. Jake kept Yanni’s close to his heart on a pendant, Braydon’s in his ring, and even Nikita, who had Vladdy’s Crystal embedded onto the inside of the bracelet he always wore. 

When he first met them, he spent about a month wondering what was up with Nikita and Vladdy because Jake never once saw Vladdy’s Crystal. And then he heard their story, and it was the most romantic thing Jake had ever heard. 

But the thing that he really couldn’t believe, was that Braydon and Slater were only _just_ getting married.

“Hey, Slater. Why did you guys wait so long to do this?” 

“I had to give you enough time to get over being jilted,” Slater smirked.

“Damn. You _are_ sassy,” Jake scoffed with a smile on his face.

“Well, duh...but also, Braydon wanted to make sure I really wanted to stay with him.” Slater threaded his fingers with Braydon’s. “Which was no question, really.”

“I didn’t want you to think that you _had _to be with me. You can do whatever you want,” Braydon kissed Slater gently.__

____

____

“I know.” Slater smiled. “I would have married you in a heartbeat though.” 

“I’m surprised you two didn’t marry in my foyer that night I told you,” Jake interjected causing the group to laugh. 

“I totally would have if he asked!” Slater beamed. 

Slater and Braydon started play-arguing about when and where would make the best time and place to get married. Jake watched Yanni listen intently to the argument, like he was going to jump in at any second. Jake reached out and ran a finger down Yanni’s cheek on a whim. 

“What?” Yanni grabbed Jake’s hand and kissed his knuckles. 

Jake didn’t think that he would ever be able to believe the series of events that lead to now. 

He was _so_ lonely before. 

But now he had Yanni, he had a _family_. 

“Oh, just thinking about how much I love you.” he said with a soft smile. 

“I love you too.” Yanni pulled Jake’s lips to his own. 

Jake wouldn’t trade this for _anything_. 


End file.
